The present invention relates to hearing aids. More particularly, the invention relates to remote controlled hearing aids utilizing magnetic switches.
Hearing aids often offer adjustable operational parameters to facilitate maximum hearing capability and comfort to the users. Some parameters, such as volume or tone, may be conveniently user adjustable. Other parameters, such as filtering parameters, and automatic gain control (AGC) parameters are typically adjusted by the acoustician.
With regard to user adjustable parameters, it is awkward or difficult to remove the hearing aid for adjustment especially for individuals with impaired manual dexterity. Remotely controlled units may be utilized to adjust such desired functions inconspicuously and without removal of the hearing aid.
Various means have been utilized for the remote control of hearing aids. A remote actuator of some type is necessarily required for all remote controlled systems. Control signals from the remote actuator have been by way of several different types of media such as infrared radiation, ultrasonic signals, radio frequency signals, and acoustical signals.
Often times different listening situations will warrant different settings of various adjustable parameters for optimal hearing and comfort. This need may be addressed by preprogramming various groups of settings (programs) of the parameters into the memories of the hearing aids. When entering a different environment the user can select the most suitable group of settings of the adjustable parameters. The remote control selection of such programs has heretofore required transmission of coded or modulated signals to activate selection of the desired programs. Thus, necessitating an electrically complex remote actuator and receiver circuitry in the hearing aid. Obviously, where a remote actuator is inoperable or unavailable, selection of different programs would be impossible.
Remote actuators used to control parameters and select programs can have complicated controls which can make them difficult to understand and use by many hearing aid users. Moreover, users with limited manual dexterity due to arthritis, injuries, or other debilitating illnesses may find it difficult or impossible to operate remote controls with several push-button controls. Thus, there is a need for a simple to use remote controlled hearing aid requiring very limited manual dexterity and in which a number of hearing aid parameters may be controlled, either individually or by way of program selections.
As hearing aids have become more sophisticated they have also become smaller. "Completely in the canal" (CIC) hearing aids are currently available which are miniaturized sufficiently to fit far enough into the ear canal to be out of view. Such placement makes the hearing aid difficult to access with tools for adjusting the operational parameters. Moreover, such placement makes remote control where direct access is needed, such as infrared radiation, difficult or impossible.
In such state of the art hearing aids there is minimal face plate space for sensors or controls such as potentiometers. Thus there is a need for a means of controlling adjustable operational parameters in state of the art miniaturized hearing aids without controls or sensors that take up face plate space.
The prior art discloses hearing aids that have utilized multiple magnetic reed switches, however these devices are awkward to use and are not practical for modern ultraminiature hearing aids which may be completely hidden within the ear canal. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,907 to John M. Epley, Dec. 16, 1986, discloses the use of a pair of magnetic reed switches in a hearing aid that is mechanically coupled to the user's ear drum. The configuration requires that the reed switches must be actuated individually to provide for increasing or decreasing the volume of the hearing aid. A special magnetic actuator and supplemental bias magnets are positioned in the hearing aid adjacent to the reed switches to facilitate the individual actuations of the reed switches.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,321 to Ribic issued on Oct. 25, 1994 discloses a hearing aid again utilizing at least two magnetic reed switches to control the hearing aid volume. The Ribic device requires that the reed switches be sequentially activated in a particular sequence by waving the magnetic actuator past the switches to step up or down the hearing aid volume. These devices do not fully utilize the inherent advantages of magnetic switches in that they require delicate adjustment operations and/or multiple precise movements to adjust the volume to a desired level.